Quotes: Duke 90, Maryland 80

February 13, 2006
Duke 90, Maryland 80

Opening statement:
“I just thought it was a great game. It had to be a great game for the fans and for T.V. as well. I think both teams played extremely well. We shot the ball well, a lot of transition, not too many turnovers. I thought Maryland did an excellent job, jumped on us early. I thought the second half we did a much better job defensively, got some steals which led to some buckets for us, and we were just much more aggressive on the offensive end as well. I'm really pleased to come away with a win. We know we just beat an excellent team.”

On Abby Waner:
“She always brings great energy, whether it's practice or a game. We count on her for that. Whether she's hitting her shots or not, that really doesn't matter because we know she's going to be one of the players to get on the floor for loose balls and she has great court vision so she's going to always see the open player as well. She just makes us better.”

On Maryland's 10-point first half lead:
“At that point I felt like Maryland was just shooting lights out. They were making everything. They were playing great basketball. I felt like, and I was hoping, that they wouldn't be able to shoot that way for the entire game. We just needed to crank our defense up a notch. We were doing some things ? trapping screens on the ball, doubling (Crystal) Langhorne down low ? and all of our rotations were about a second off. And that second is the difference between a steal or a lay-up or an open three for them and we were a second off and they were getting really good shots and they were knocking them down. I felt like if we could just knuckle down a little bit more defensively and do the things that we're used to doing we would be alright. So I wasn't panicked at all. I don't think any of us were.”

On Wanisha Smith running the point after Lindsey Harding was injured:
“That's where last year is so beneficial for her and for us. Lindsey went out but when you think about it, we ended the game basically with our starting five from last year, so that's a great luxury to have. That just shows the depth of the team, the experience of the team. Wanisha could go into that situation and feel extremely comfortable whereas last year she might not have been quite so comfortable in that situation.”

Duke Player Quotes

Monique Currie:

On Lindsey Harding getting injured:
“I think that it actually got us going a little bit. We knew that everybody had to do a little bit more since we were out of our point guard. We were just looking to make some good decisions. Wanisha took over in the point position and we needed her to stay under control and make good decisions. I think she did.”

On her play against Virginia:
“I was over it when the game [against Virginia] ended. I try not to dwell on things that happen. It was a bad game. Coach G says it happens. It was unacceptable for me but I just had to keep moving. I couldn't worry about that because I knew that I needed to be prepared for this game today. “

“I knew that I needed to be a lot more aggressive, make better decisions, and try to be under control when I take shots. I was really focused on trying to doing that throughout the game.”

On Maryland's run late in the first half:
“I wasn't too happy that we were down, but I was never worried. I just thought we needed to take it in, refocus, and come back out strong in the second half. They were hitting some big shots and getting some open shots.”

Jessica Foley:

On the two consecutive threes late in the second half:
“I knew they were going to fall eventually. In the first half, they felt really good and they were rolling around the rim. I just kept shooting the ball and finally got a few to drop.”

“I missed all my wide open ones and hit the two from the corner.”

Mistie Williams:

On her feelings at half time:
“Maryland's a great team, we know that basketball is a game of runs and good teams are going to make their runs. We knew that we had to come out in the second half and be a little more aggressive and want it more. That was the key to it.”

On stopping Maryland late in the second half:
“I think that it may have been when Lindsey came out. We had come out with a lot of intensity, then that happened and I think that we gained a little more intensity. It's kind of a little incentive to work harder because, when Lindsey goes out, I'm sure the other team is going to be licking their chops. We kept our composure and we played aggressive. It's kind of hard to stop a team that has that intensity out there.”

On how Duke was able to take control down low in the post:
“They have two really good post players and it was all really about trying to keep them down to their averages. Crystal Langhorne did a great job getting to the boards. You kind of have to move on and try the next the time. Sometimes it's kind of hard with post defense. It's something that we work on all the time.”

Maryland Head Coach Brenda Frese

Opening Statement:
“It was just a hard fought game. It was a tremendous environment, an environment that we love to come in to. It was an exciting game. I thought a game of runs in both halves. Obviously, in the second half, it came down to Duke taking it to us. From the defensive end, we had a lot of breakdowns in the last seven or eight minutes of the game. They really did a tremendous job on the glass. I thought they outworked us and were more physical than us and really gave us a lot of problems. They did a tremendous job and that is how they earned the win.”

On Jessica Foley's two three-pointers in the second half:
“They got hot. I thought Jessica did a really nice job stepping up. You get in a nice rhythm and you gain some confidence and we had some breakdowns on what we were doing on the defensive end. That is because Duke makes you work so hard every possession. Maybe some of that was fatigue but they wear you out with the waves of people that they are able to send in. Once Lindsey went down, I thought we would be able to get a little bit of momentum with them playing different lineups in the point guard spot but I think that really just reenergized them and they were playing for her.”

On Duke's rebounding edge:
“They are big, they are strong, they are athletic, they have huge size and they were just quicker to the ball and quicker to the glass.”

On Monique Currie:
“I knew she would come out. She is a competitor and I knew she wasn't going to have back-to-back games like that. I knew she was going to come out focused and ready to play. She did what an All-American does. She came out, put the team on her back and had a tremendous game for them.”

On Duke in the second half:
“They had their way with us. It was like what we talked about in the locker room. When you score 80 points normally it gives you a chance to win the game except when you give up 57 in the second half. Everybody knows the kind of threats and weapons Duke has. You try to defend Monique and Jessica Foley gets hot. You defend Jessica and Wanisha (Smith) gets hot. They just have a lot of different weapons and can continue to go at you by sending waves of players in.”

On if Duke has Maryland's number:
“We were laughing about that. You can ask every team, we kind of have Carolina's number, Carolina has Duke's number and Duke has our number. Right now I think it is matchups. We are going to keep competing and we keep getting that margin down. Duke is so talented and so deep.”

On if Maryland played better than in the first game against Duke:
“We are still rebounding this team so to speak. We are still extremely young and are putting the pieces together. We are definitely a different team than we were the second game of the season. We have a healthy Kristi Tolliver. We have everyone back in the regular positions where we are strongest at. We still don't have a roster that can go nine or ten deep. There is still a degree of separation. We are still trying to build this program and learn from it. Duke exposes you and I am excited because they are going to help us in the ACC Tournament come March. That is the biggest lesson. We have to get better right now in terms of our defense and rebuilding.”

On what Maryland can take away from loss:
“A ton of confidence. We played in two of the toughest environments, not only in the conference, but in the country. I am really proud of the poise and confidence that we had in both games. This is going to help us. Our kids our disappointed. They believed that they could come in here and compete to win this game. As long as they have that kind of hunger and can learn from it, good things will happen for this team.”

Crystal Langhorne

On Duke's rebounding edge:
“We didn't box out well enough.”

On loss to Duke:
“I think we are just going to learn from it and get better. We need to get better defensively and improve our rebounding.”

Marissa Coleman

On playing in environment like Duke:
“It definitely helps but I am more concerned about the 31 points I let Mo (Monique Currie) score. It makes me sick that I had that horrible of a defensive effort tonight. That is just what I am concentrating on right now. The offense will come, I just need to work on the defensive end.”

On feeling at halftime:
“We were just talking about how we couldn't let up. We had to bring it to another level. We knew they were getting a lot of second chance opportunities and we needed to cut down on that. We also saw that all the loose balls and hustle plays were there so we wanted to get some of those too. We just let them get too many second chance opportunities. It is something we have to work on in practice.”

On Monique Currie:
“She moves around the floor well, she uses her screens really well and she is so strong. She uses her body well. She was hitting tough shots tonight. Mainly she just uses her screens well and knows how to use her body. She knows how to attack and finish.”